Illustration Credit: KaenBlue from DeviantArt

Author's Note: I put together a little Youtube playlist for this if you happen to enjoy listening to music while you read. I listened to a playlist of 197 popular clubbing songs from 2015 and narrowed it down to four songs. My playlist is called ProstituteChapter9 – all one word. If it doesn't pop up for you on Youtube or you'd prefer to use a different platform, here's the list in order. I'm not sure if your reading speed will match up perfectly to what I have in mind for each song, but enjoy anyway:

3LAU - How You Love Me

Rudimental - Waiting All Night

Gorgon City - Ready For Your Love

Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz - Prayer In C

Chapter 9: Clubbing

Mokuba knocked on the door to Joan's second-floor apartment. After finding out about Duke's party, he'd exchanged logistics with Joan. Taking a page out of his brother's book, he wore black leather pants and a Kaiba Corporation shirt emblazoned with three Blue Eyes White Dragons. A KC belt rode low on his hips, but he hadn't bothered with the additional adornments Seto favored.

Joan answered the door in the glittering one-sleeved dress that Marc had bought for her. A black purse in which she'd packed a few essentials hung from one shoulder. Smokey eyeshadow cast an alluring aura over her face. She ran her eyes over Mokuba's body from toe to head, taking in the slight bulge of his crotch and broad shoulders. "I love that look on you."

Mokuba gulped. "You look amazing. I'm sorry, this is still really new to me."

"Relax." Joan pulled Mokuba in for a hug and felt the smooth, cool synthetic fabric of his shirt. "Just let me know if anything isn't working for you and we can change it." She drew back and smiled warmly.

A bald male with stubbly facial hair peered over Joan's shoulder. "OMG! You were right, he's sooooo cute!" he said in obvious falsetto. "Hi, I'm Joan's roommate, Michelle."

"Oh, uh, hi?" Mokuba replied.

The man dropped into his normal voice. "Sorry. I'm actually Michael. I know you're doing the whole 'pretending' thing but obviously I'm not convincing you. I just wanted to see your face once. I can stay out of your way from now on."

"OK. Sure, yeah, that sounds good," Mokuba said.

Joan took Mokuba's arm and headed towards the stairs. "Bye Michelle, don't wait up for me," Joan called over her shoulder. They made their way down to the parking lot and Mokuba opened the passenger door to an electric blue Tesla Roadster. "Is this thing for real?" Joan asked as she got in.

Mokuba got behind the wheel. "Ever since I met you, I don't know what's real anymore."

"Fair enough."

Again, the conversation remained restricted to light topics. With all the scenery flashing by outside the windows, Joan had an endless supply of inspiration.

They approached a building with a giant neon guitar neck sticking out of the first floor awning. Shimmering curtains shielded the windows from curious outsiders. When they stopped, a valet opened the door for Joan and took the keys from Mokuba.

Mokuba handed his passport to the bouncer, who quickly found him on the guest list. He then scanned Joan's ID and they were ushered inside with minimal delay. Once inside, Joan handed her purse over to the coat check person and Mokuba pocketed the ticket they received in exchange. Music pounded through the sound system as they stepped up to a long, glossy wooden bar where Joan ordered a ginger ale.

"No alcohol?" Mokuba asked, surprised.

"Maybe later. I want to remember this night."

"Oh."

Joan held Mokuba's gaze firmly. "Too intense? It's actually true, you know."

"OK. Ginger ale for me too then."

They took their drinks from the bartender and surveyed the rest of the club. Giant metallic stars decorated the walls and retro lamps dangled from the ceiling. Flashes of multicolored light spilled from an adjacent room where nobody was dancing yet. A staircase led to a VIP lounge on the second level.

"Want to see who's up there?" Mokuba asked.

"Sure."

Mokuba presented his passport to the bouncer guarding the stairs. He checked it against a list and stepped aside. "Thank you, Mr. Kaiba. Enjoy your evening."

Mokuba took Joan's hand to signal that she was with him as they went up the stairs. They entered a room lined with velvet-covered couches on every wall and three dance poles running through the middle. Joan recognized one of Marc's friends dressed as Dark Magician Girl shaking her cute little bubble butt on the central pole. Her pink and blue off-the-shoulder costume displayed generous cleavage. Joan waved, but had forgotten the cosplayer's name, so she didn't engage her in conversation.

Duke Devlin sat on the center couch with his knees open and an arm around another attractive lady. "Yo Mokuba! How's it hanging, man? Come have a seat!"

Mokuba walked up to Duke. "Hey Duke, this is Joan. Joan, Duke is the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters."

"A pleasure," Duke said as they shook hands, the die dangling from his ear swinging with the motion. "So how do you know Mokuba?"

Mokuba sat down and Joan plopped beside him. Imitating Duke in a façade of cocky poise, Mokuba slid his arm around Joan.

"Someone stole my bicycle and Mokuba offered me a ride home," Joan said.

Duke tilted his head. "Aw that's sweet. That'll make a nice story to tell your grandchildren."

"Uh. Thanks, I guess," Mokuba said.

Duke picked up a half-empty martini glass from a glowing resin table in front of them. "I always saw you as the family type, Mokie. I'm surprised you're not totin' around three kids already."

"I think he's already tipsy," Joan whispered to Mokuba.

"You got any kids, Duke?" Mokuba asked.

"I got a few running around. Bombay, Dubai, Dallas, Moscow. Send their mommas checks sometimes."

"Excuse me. I have to go pee-pee." The girl Duke was holding abruptly got up and scurried away.

"Later babe," Duke called.

"Wait, you seriously just . . ." Mokuba trailed off.

"Pump and dump, my man," Duke finished. "It's the life!"

Mokuba tightened his hold around Joan. "OK, but don't you give them morning after pills or anything?"

"Naw. A lot of these bitches want to get preggy. Some stud's gonna knock them up anyway and it might as well be me!" Duke downed the last of his drink.

Joan and Mokuba remained silent while Dark Magician Girl blew a kiss at Duke.

"I think we need some fresh air," Joan said at last. She stood up and pulled Mokuba onto a nearby balcony. Traffic rumbled beneath them in a sea of lights.

Mokuba leaned on the banister and looked out over the city. "Is that true? Do some women want to be pumped and dumped?"

"Probably. Different people want different things."

A tremble crept into Mokuba's voice. "What do you want?"

"Do you want the real answer or the pretend answer?"

"The real answer."

Joan leaned her elbows on the banister and looked him in the eye. "Brothers."

Mokuba let the word sink in. He thought Marc had been joking. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, fraternal polyandry if you want the technical term for it. That's where all the brothers in a family marry one wife, sometimes more wives if the first wife is barren or something. It's actually a tradition in Tibet. It keeps them from splitting up their land."

"Why don't you move there then?"

"I read up on the place. They're not friendly to outsiders. They have too many unmarried women already and I don't have the skills most of them want in a wife. Here in California, there's a surplus of available men because half of the women have decided they don't need a man."

"Interesting. So do all the men you date have brothers?"

"Most do. I hope someday one of them will give me a chance, but if that never happens, I'll settle for my guys becoming really good friends with each other, almost like brothers."

"So because Seto and I are actually brothers, that's why you want to remember this night?"

"Guilty as charged." Joan's smile, however, radiated no guilt.

The word "discount" clicked into Mokuba's head. It all made sense now. "That's weird, but I actually feel better knowing that. You did something to my brother, something good, and now I know it wasn't just because he paid you."

"Cool. I don't know exactly how that worked, but I'm glad it did."

Before Mokuba could think too hard about it, he kissed Joan, hastily swooping in and drawing back. Joan eyed him and smiled, examining his face for any sign of regret before she grabbed him and returned the kiss. She kept it tame but sincere, lingering like a weary traveler returning home.

Joan pulled back and spoke softly, "Hey."

"Hey." Mokuba searched for what to say next, but nothing came. He was in uncharted territory but could tell she knew the way.

"Ready to dance?" Joan asked.

"Sure."

They passed Dark Magician Girl giving Duke a lap dance and went downstairs, holding hands as they wormed their way through undulating bodies. They settled on a spot and started dancing. Joan invited Mokuba to touch her body, guiding his hands around her waist and letting her bouncing breasts brush against him. Marc was right; this was more fun without a bra. Their close proximity deterred strange men from grinding up on Joan.

After three songs, Laura Aurelio appeared at Mokuba's elbow. "Hey boss!" she yelled.

"What?" Mokuba asked through the noise.

"Hi," Laura repeated.

"Hi," Joan and Mokuba said.

The noise drowned Laura's next words.

"What?" Mokuba asked.

"Never mind," Laura replied.

"What?" Mokuba said again.

Laura gave them two thumbs up and then danced away backwards, blending into the crowd.

Mokuba and Joan kept dancing until the heat from the other bodies became oppressive. They then ordered fresh fizzy drinks and headed upstairs. Duke and Dark Magician Girl were gone, leaving the poles unattended. A man in a flamboyant red suit with long white hair covering one eye sat sipping red wine among other men in less colorful attire. Most held glasses of champagne, and bottles littered the glowing resin table.

"Shit," Mokuba cursed under his breath.

The red-suited man rose and flung his arms wide. "Little Mokuba! Not so little anymore, but that's how I'll always remember you," he said in a dramatically suave voice. "It's been forever. Hopefully no hard feelings over our old Duelist Kingdom days. Come now, my Millennium Eye is long gone." He pulled back the hair to reveal a vacant socket pink with useless blood vessels, then let it fall back in place.

Mokuba stiffened. "Joan, this is Maximillion Pegasus. He kidnapped me when I was a child to lure my brother into a duel and stole our souls in an attempt to resurrect his dead wife."

"Don't be like that," Pegasus pouted. "I was overcome with grief. You would have done the same."

"Let's go." Mokuba put his hand on Joan's waist and they turned.

"Wait!" Pegasus called, "I heard a rather interesting rumor about your company. Perhaps you would care to clarify matters?"

Mokuba stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Come take a seat. Let's have a little chat," Pegasus invited.